These Tea Party Politicians Could Change The Senate

Right now across the country, Tea Party leaders and strategists are working furiously to establish a major beachhead in the Senate next January.

Combined with at least half a dozen sitting senators who already have strong Tea Party ties – including Rand Paul of Kentucky, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Mike Lee of Utah and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin – some ambitious newcomers could put tremendous pressure on Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to advance the conservative agenda they stand for, including a balanced budget, smaller government, entitlement and tax reform, and the repeal of President Obama’s signature health care reforms.

Wisconsin Senate candidate Mark Neumann, already endorsed by the Tea Party Express – one of the largest Tea Party groups – is among those hoping to take the Capitol by storm this fall. “It may very well be the first time in more than a generation that the Republican caucus might be in control in the Senate,” Neumann told The Fiscal Times on Tuesday as he began a multi-city Tea Party Express bus tour in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Here are snapshots of six senators already closely allied with the Tea Party – and three who would like to join them in Washington, D.C., this fall.